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Houston Texans Snap Count Report (Texans v. Redskins): Foster Carries The Load; Cushing Eased Into Starting Role

Here's how Bill O'Brien and Romeo Crennel deployed their roster Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

By David Corzo
The Texans might have found a diamond in the rough with A.J. Bouye
The Texans might have found a diamond in the rough with A.J. Bouye
Thomas B. Shea

If you were around last year, you might remember me charting snap counts semi-regularly throughout the season. I wanted to do it every week, but the demoralizing losses of the 2013 season often killed my desire to look at spreadsheets.

But now we're in a new era, and I'm very curious to see how Bill O'Brien and Romeo Crennel will use the pieces given to them, so let's jump right in.

Offense

Name POS Snaps PCT% Snaps PCT% Snaps PCT%
Duane Brown T 59 100 3 14
Ben Jones G 59 100 3 14
Derek Newton T 59 100 3 14
Brandon Brooks G 59 100 3 14
Chris Myers C 59 100
Ryan Fitzpatrick QB 59 100
Andre Johnson WR 58 98
Arian Foster RB 57 97
DeAndre Hopkins WR 54 92 1 2
C.J. Fiedorowicz TE 54 92 5 23
Ryan Griffin TE 26 44 5 23
Jay Prosch FB 16 27 2 9
Damaris Johnson WR 15 25 8 36
Jonathan Grimes RB 8 14 11 50
Xavier Su'a-Filo G 3 5 3 14
Alfred Blue RB 2 3 17 77
Keshawn Martin WR 2 3

Freshly acquired via the waiver wire, Damaris Johnson barely had time to iron out the wrinkles of his jock strap before being handed significant snaps at slot receiver. Those of us hoping that Keshawn Martin could do something -- anything at all -- other than be another of Rick Smith's failed mid-round draft picks were left disappointed. Perhaps the workload will shift next week as Johnson did next to nothing offensively (three targets, one reception, one yard). He looked somewhat decent returning kicks, however.

I was quite surprised to see Arian Foster shoulder almost all running back snaps despite (1) having recent back and hamstring issues, (2) having two sets of fresh legs behind him that looked capable during the preseason, and (3) O'Brien previously talking about him and former Patriots running backs Danny Woodhead and Kevin Faulk in the same sentence. Hopefully, Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes will be rotated in with more frequency.

So how long until Ryan Fitzpatrick sees his snaps go down to zero? He did very little to win the game, but nothing to lose it. I have a feeling (call it a hunch) that the Texans won't win that many games with performances like yesterday's (206 yards on 14/22 passing with just one touchdown). Can Ryan Mallett provide more upside?

Defense and Special Team

Name POS Snaps PCT% Snaps PCT% Snaps PCT%
D.J. Swearinger FS 65 100 1 5
Kareem Jackson CB 65 100 1 5
Kendrick Lewis FS 64 98 7 32
J.J. Watt DE 61 94 1 5
Brooks Reed LB 60 92 1 5
Johnathan Joseph CB 59 91
Tim Jamison DE 47 71 1 5
Danieal Manning S 45 69 12 55
Brian Cushing LB 42 65 1 5
Jared Crick DE 41 63 1 5
A.J. Bouye CB 34 52 8 36
Whitney Mercilus LB 28 43 5 23
Mike Mohamed LB 24 37 16 73
Jadeveon Clowney LB 23 35 3 14
Jerrell Powe NT 21 32 1 5
Justin Tuggle LB 19 29 17 77
Andre Hal DB 12 18 7 32
Darryl Morris CB 3 5 1 5
Jeoffery Pagan DE 1 2
Jeff Tarpinian LB 18 82
Eddie Pleasant SS 17 77
Elbert Mack CB 16 73
Akeem Dent LB 15 68
Tyson Clabo T 3 14

Interesting to see that Brian Cushing was heavily rotated in and out, getting just 65% of the defensive snaps. However, Mike Mohamed and Justin Tuggle played just 37% and 29% of the snaps at ILB, respectively. This suggests that the Texans played a lot of dime personnel to better handle speedsters DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon (not to mention a scrambling Robert Griffin III). Smaller defensive groupings might also explain why the Texans were getting burned on the ground by Alfred Morris (14 carries, 91 yards) and Roy Helu, Jr. (four carries, 46 yards).

As long as he can stay out of his own way, D.J. Swearinger can quickly build himself a reputation as a hard-hitting, playmaker if he continues playing the way he played Sunday.

Finding capable cornerbacks seems to be getting harder and harder in today's passing oriented league, so finding one who went undrafted last year is an absolute win for this front office. I refer, of course, to second-year cornerback A.J. Bouye, who spent all of last season on IR. There was nothing splash-worthy from him Sunday, but that's not a bad thing. Considering this team's history with cornerbacks, I'd be happy to never hear his name during a broadcast.

J.J. Watt blocked an extra point attempt in his lone special teams snap. This dude...

These are just my observations. Let us hear yours, Texans fans. Are you happy with how your Houston Texans were used on Sunday?

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